Chapter 1013 Introduce a New Topic

“Empress Dowager…” Old Madam glared at Rui’an Great Elder Princess, her eyes seething with anger.

“That’s good!” an old lady sitting on the side said.

“It makes sense. Your Majesty, let’s settle this matter in that way. As for what happened yesterday, let the Ministry of Justice check it out. The Ministry of Justice shouldn’t let its officials hide in the mansion of an aristocratic family to investigate! This time, even the Marquis Xing’s Mansion didn’t know an official was hiding in their mansion! It might not be a big deal that the man offended any female family member. But if he were implicated in other things, it could be the start of something big!”

Ruiping Great Elder Princess nodded. The other Madams also thought her analysis made sense. This kind of thing was very likely to happen again. Next time, someone might hide in their mansion.

If it was for an important political matter, it was reasonable for the official to hide and solve the case. But how could they use such a theatrical means to handle a family affair? Every family has a skeleton in the closet. When the Ministry of Justice dealt with the cases in this way, each family’s deep-hidden secrets might be exposed. Therefore, none of them would accept that. No, absolutely not.

“This kind of thing… I’ve never heard of it. The Ministry of Justice should rectify their working style!”

“If the Ministry of Justice has registered and made a record of any family dispute, they can investigate it aboveboard. There is no need to do such a despicable thing to hide in other people’s dwellings like a thief in the night. In particular, the truth of this matter may be found elsewhere. Who knows what horrifying thing would happen if Princess Chen took in the medicine smell without any strong and effective countermeasures?”

“Yes, that’s right!” …

Several Madams were animatedly talking about it. Voices rose in a crowd and drowned Old Madam out. The Empress Dowager did not hear her at all.

Only Shao Wanru, who had been paying attention to Old Madam, heard a little. She silently squinted at her with a trace of sarcasm in her eyes.

Even when they nearly got to the bottom of this matter, Old Madam still wanted to protect Madam Jiang. It seemed that her love for her daughter-in-law had not diminished at all.

“Servants, send an imperial physician to check on Madam Jiang’s condition. If her condition is stable, she must make the trip to the Ministry of Justice!” The Empress Dowager made the final decision.

Old Madam staggered and almost fainted.

“The dignified Madam of Marquis Xing will have to take her trial before the Ministry of Justice! What a shame! Madam Jiang, if Madam Jiang is smart, she should do what I advised.”

“Help Old Madam up. It’s cold on the ground!” the Empress Dowager said lightly.

Two palace maids came over and helped Old Madam to her feet, taking her to the chair on one side, and then retreated aside.

“Your Majesty, let Marquis Xing handle the case about his mansion himself. You don’t have to worry too much. Your birthday is coming soon, so you should be much happier now!” Ruiping Great Elder Princess smiled and changed the unpleasant topic.

“I’ve already prepared the birthday gift for Your Majesty!” Infanta Yuan’an immediately joined in to please the Empress Dowager.

This pair of grandma and granddaughter cooperated very well, and after they exchanged a few words, the depressing atmosphere was swept away.

Shao Wanru silently glanced at the smiling Infanta Yuan’an. “Indeed, she is one of the few people whom the Empress Dowager dotes on.” Shao Wanru looked at her and thought to herself.

Infanta Yuan’an was bright and quick-witted before the Empress Dowager.

“Chen’er, I’m afraid it’ll be too late for him to attend my birthday when he returns to the capital!” The Empress Dowager sighed and thought of her grandson.

“Prince Chen is the most filial-hearted. Even if he can’t get back to the capital in time, he must have prepared the gift long ago!” Infanta Yuan’an joked.

Her words made the Empress Dowager laugh. “Indeed. He sent his gift to me early, but he was far away from home this time. I’m really worried about him. I think he should come back early!”

After that, the Empress Dowager frowned slightly again and looked worried.

Infanta Yuan’an rolled her eyes and an idea came across her mind. “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. Prince Chen only needs to send some people to the border and won’t go to the foreign state alone. Even if something happens, he will be safe.”

Chu Liuchen would deploy some troops along the border after sending the emissaries out of the country. He didn’t have to skate on thin ice.

“Although it is said so, I always feel worried about him. Chen’er is not in good health. He has to travel far this time, and I am always worried about him.” The Empress Dowager sighed. As long as she thought that her grandson had gone so far away and stayed in such a dangerous place, she would not be able to eat or sleep well in the past few days. She was afraid that anything would go wrong if he was not careful enough.

“Imperial Grandmother, don’t worry. If Prince Chen knows that you concern so much about him, he will worry about you,” Shao Wanru said softly.

“Empress Dowager, Prince Chen has always had a great filial affection for you. For him, you’re not even in the mood to celebrate your birthday. How can he rest assured?” Rui’an Great Elder Princess also tried to persuade her.

“I can only take care of myself in case he feels worried about me. I hope he will come back soon. The Xu State doesn’t sound like a decent place!” The Empress Dowager had only heard a little bit about the Xu State because it was too far away. In her mind, it was an evil and strange country.

The Emperor had mentioned to the Empress Dowager that some past events were all related to the Xu State.

“Your Majesty, I heard that there were surviving evildoers of the former dynasty fleeing there. Is it true?” a Madam suddenly thought of this matter and asked.

“That’s what they all said. They also said that though those chief conspirators were executed more than a decade ago, some of their subordinates escaped,” another Madam said.

Shao Wanru didn’t say anything, but her eyes flickered slightly as she focused her attention on their conversation.

She was most concerned about what happened more than a decade ago, for her father died at that time.

Although these Madams couldn’t know anything secret, she might be able to get some unexpected inspiration from their words.

“That’s what I’ve heard. At that time, some people seemed to have escaped to the Xu State, where there were people coming to pick them up. Otherwise, they couldn’t have disappeared without a trace as soon as they entered its border,” said Ruiping Great Elder Princess.

“Really? Then the trip to the Xu State…” A Madam covered her mouth with a handkerchief in surprise.

If that were the case, the trip to the Xu State wouldn’t be easy!

“Prince Chen won’t serve as an envoy abroad. He’ll stay at the border. I don’t think the Xu State dares to do anything against them when so many troops are along the border. I heard they want to be on friendly terms with us. They’d like to send a princess to our state by marriage!” Infanta Yuan’an said, smiling.

“Princess from the Xu State? That state is said to have only rugged hills and turbulent waters, so I suppose their princess must have nothing good,” another madam said with disdain.

Shao Wanru’s heart skipped a beat. “The princess of the Xu State?” Her hand holding the handkerchief tightened slightly. It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember clearly. “Did this period of memory disappear in the end?”

“Why am I not surprised when I first heard this matter?”

“Is it true that the princess of the Xu State is going to marry into our country?”

“I’m not sure about that. I heard a princess in the Xu State admiring our thriving and prosperous state wanted to get here by marriage, but I don’t know the exact details. It was just hearsay; I heard someone talking about it when I went out one day.” Infanta Yuan’an hung her head coyly and apologized to the Empress Dowager. “Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I mistakenly shared a bit of gossip with you!”

“Nothing serious. It was just a small matter. You just mentioned it in passing.” The Empress Dowager gently comforted her and then asked with concern, “Were all the passers-by talking about that?”

“Not all of them said that. When I was outside, I overheard a conversation between two people beside me. Later on, I wanted to learn some details from them but couldn’t find them anymore!” Infanta Yuan’an was confused. “I wanted to ask them where they heard it from, but in the blink of an eye, they disappeared. I didn’t take this matter seriously and just said it casually.”

So, such a rumor was totally groundless. If anyone was going to investigate, Infanta Yuan’an didn’t need to take any responsibility. After all, she heard it from two strangers on the road. “Infanta Yuan’an is so good at interweaving truth with fiction. Indeed remarkable!”

Shao Wanru picked up the teacup beside her, took a sip, and then slowly put it down.

In a calm frame of mind, Shao Wanru looked perfectly relaxed and continued listening to the conversation between Infanta Yuan’an and the Empress Dowager. “But would Infanta Yuan’an ever reveal an unfounded rumor to the Empress Dowager?

“Of course, she wouldn’t. It must be very tricky to deal with Infanta Yuan’an. See? She was even willing to try her best to help me over the past two days! To accomplish some ambition, she could endure deep hardships.

“She appeared muddleheaded when making efforts to gain an advantage over me that day. Except for that mishap, Infanta Yuan’an has been quite composed.

“If what she said is true, it will be a little troublesome for Chu Liuchen at the border.”

Biting her cherry lips, Shao Wanru fought down the throb of worry in her heart and went on listening to their conversation.

“So what if the Xu State wants to marry their princess? How can a princess from an uncivilized country marry one of our princes?” A Madam, deeply scornful of the so-called princess from the Xu State, curled her lips in disdain.

Three of the four princes were married or had already been engaged. Only Prince Xin was single. Nevertheless, he would not accept any savage princess as his wife. To those Madams, no matter how much the Xu State princess wanted to marry a prince here, her wish wouldn’t come true!

“Commandery Prince Qing hasn’t yet married, has he?” a Madam suddenly asked.

“No, but I heard that he is engaged to someone!” another Madam answered hesitantly.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, the Empress Dowager remarked it lightly. “Yes, he is. His mother made the marriage engagement for him. The girl’s family background is not worth mentioning.”

The Empress Dowager was indifferent and careless about the girl, who was said to be from a humble family. Did it mean the Empress Dowager didn’t like her?

Several Madams here were smart enough to perceive the Empress Dowager’s attitude immediately. They also understood why she was not fond of her. The other princes had married ladies whom the Empress Dowager approved. She granted their marriages. Only this one was not known to others. From the look of the Empress Dowager, she had never seen her before. Usually, it should be the Emperor or the Empress Dowager to decide the marriages of the royal family descendants. This time, a consort, a locked up one, dared to appoint the girl to be Commandery Prince Qing’s wife. How bold and shameless she was!

“Your Majesty, something bad happened. The Madam of Marquis Xing committed suicide by bumping into a pillar!” a palace maid hurried in and said while gasping for breath.

Old Madam, sitting on the chair, widened her eyes in horror and then slid down the chair silently before uttering any word…

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